Level 5 today announced four games for DS and PlayStation Portable. While the Fukuoka-based development studio is still working on Dragon Quest IX for Square Enix and Shirokishi Monogatari (White Knight Story) for Sony Computer Entertainment, the company apparently has also found some time to ready the four games announced today. While Inazuma Eleven 2 is a direct sequel to the popular soccer RPG Inazuma Eleven, Ni no Kuni, Ushiro and Danball Senki are all original titles.

Ni no Kuni is the first title commemorating the 10th anniversary of the founding of Level 5. The DS-based game's anime sequences are produced by Studio Ghibli of Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away fame. An actual copy of the instruction manual for wizards acquired by the protagonist in the game will ship with the software. Players will have to use various bits of information detailed in the book to solve Ni no Kuni's many riddles. In addition to the handheld release, Level 5 apparently is also planning to develop a console-based version of the game.

Danball Senki is a robot-themed RPG. The PlayStation Portable title combines the fun of building robots with the fun of controlling them in battle. After assembling small battle robots known as LBX, players will send their creations into battle. The stages for these robot battles are various fields made up of reinforced cardboard.

Ushiro is a PlayStation Portable-based horror RPG. Players will assume control over none other than Death himself. As Death they will at times observe people, at times possess them. The player can also grant a possessed person a wish. In Death mode, the player will be able to read the various characters' thoughts. In possession mode, it is possible to freely control a possessed character. The advantage of this mode is that it allows the player to visit places he can't visit when controlling Death himself. The game's enemies are apparently monsters created by human spite.

All four games are set to hit Japanese retail store shelves sometime next year.

• Geemu Jouhou! Geemu no Hanashi